Chapter 10 The Bond Echo
MIREYA'S POV
The portal spits me out in a dark room that smells like herbs and old magic.
I stumble, hitting the floor hard. My wings fold awkwardly against my back. Everything hurts.
But that pain is nothing compared to what I feel through the bond.
Azraeth's agony slams into me like a physical blow. I gasp, clutching my chest where the soul mark burns.
"No, no, no." I scramble back toward where the portal was. But it's gone. Just solid wall. "Open it! Send me back!"
"I can't." Thorne stands across the room, her face grim. "That portal took everything I had. It'll be hours before I can open another."
"He's hurt! They have him!" I can feel it through the bond—Seraphina's holy blade poisoning his blood, Nyx's demons dragging him away, his consciousness fading. "I have to go back!"
"You'd be walking into a trap."
"I don't care!"
"He sacrificed himself so you could escape." Thorne's voice is hard. "Don't waste that."
I want to scream at her. Want to tear this room apart until she opens another portal. But through the bond, I feel Azraeth's command: Stay safe. Don't come back.
Even captured and dying, he's trying to protect me.
"Where are we?" I force the words out.
"Safe house. Underground. Lilith doesn't know about it." Thorne crosses her arms. "You need to rest. Recover. Then we figure out how to—"
Pain explodes through my entire body.
I scream. It feels like my bones are breaking, my skin burning, my soul being torn apart. But I'm not injured. This isn't my pain.
It's his.
Through the bond, I experience what Azraeth is experiencing. Seraphina's blade cutting into him. Holy magic searing his demonic essence. His screams echoing in some dungeon.
"Bond echo!" Thorne drops beside me. "She's having a bond echo!"
The world tilts. I'm not in the safe house anymore. I'm in his memory.
A dark prison. Obsidian walls that pulse with torture magic. Azraeth chained to the floor, his wings torn and bleeding. Days blur into years. Years into centuries. Five hundred years of endless agony. Alone. Forgotten. Slowly dying.
I feel every second of it.
"Make it stop!" I'm sobbing, clawing at my chest. "Please, make it stop!"
But it doesn't stop. The memories keep flooding in. His desperation. His loneliness. The way he talked to himself just to remember what voices sounded like. How he counted days until he lost track and started counting heartbeats instead.
This is what they did to him. This is what he survived.
And now they have him again.
"Breathe!" Thorne grabs my shoulders. "You have to breathe through it or it'll consume you!"
I can't breathe. Can't think. Can't do anything except drown in his memories and pain.
Then suddenly, he's there.
Not physically. But through the bond, his presence wraps around my consciousness. Azraeth, still weak from the poison, still captured, somehow finding the strength to reach for me across the distance.
I'm here, his voice echoes in my mind. I'm here, little betrayed one. Hold on.
It hurts! I scream back through the bond. Everything hurts!
I know. I'm sorry. This is my pain, not yours. You shouldn't have to carry it.
Then stop it! Please!
I can't. Not alone. Through the bond, I feel him fighting to stay conscious. But we can stop it together. We have to synchronize. Calm your breathing. Match mine.
I can't!
Yes, you can. You're stronger than you know. His presence grows warmer. Steadier. Focus on my heartbeat. Find it through the bond.
I reach through the connection. Past the pain and memories and fear. And there—I feel it. His heart beating, slow and strong despite everything.
Found it, I gasp.
Good. Now breathe with me. In... and out...
I try. My breathing is ragged and desperate, but I force myself to match his rhythm. In when he breathes in. Out when he breathes out.
The pain starts to ease. Just slightly.
That's it, he encourages. Keep going.
We breathe together. His heart and mine finding the same rhythm through the soul bond. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the bond echo fades.
The memories release me. I collapse, gasping, back in the safe house.
Thorne stares at me with wide eyes. "That was... I've never seen anyone survive a bond echo that intense."
"Is he..." I can barely speak. "Is he still alive?"
Through the bond, I feel him. Weak. Hurt. But alive. I'm here, his voice whispers in my mind. They have me, but I'm not gone yet.
I'm coming for you, I send back fiercely. I swear it. I'm going to get you back.
No. His mental voice is firm. Stay hidden. Stay safe. They want you more than me. If you come, they'll capture us both.
I don't care!
I do. Through the bond, I feel his determination. His fear for me. Promise me you'll stay safe. Promise me you won't do anything foolish.
I want to promise. Want to ease his worry. But I can't lie to him—not through the bond.
I promise I'll survive, I say instead. That's all I can give you.
His presence fades as exhaustion pulls him under. But before he goes completely, I feel his last thought: She's going to do something foolish.
He's right.
I push myself to standing. My legs shake but hold.
"Where is he?" I ask Thorne. "Where would they take him?"
"Don't even think about it." Thorne blocks my path. "You just survived a bond echo. You're in no condition to—"
"Where. Is. He."
Something in my voice makes her step back. Maybe she sees the determination in my eyes. Or maybe she feels the power crackling around my hands.
"If Seraphina captured him, she'd take him to Celestial Tower," Thorne says reluctantly. "The angel headquarters. Most fortified building in the city. Hundreds of guards. Divine wards on every entrance. It's a fortress."
"Then we break into a fortress."
"You're insane."
"Maybe." I spread my wings. They feel stronger now, more natural. "But he threw himself in front of a blade for me. He's drowning in torture right now because he saved me. I'm not leaving him there."
"You'll die."
"Then I die." I meet her eyes. "But I won't abandon him. Not after feeling what he went through in that prison. Not after knowing what it means to be left alone in the dark."
Thorne studies me for a long moment. Then, surprisingly, she smiles.
"Lilith always said demon-bonded witches were dangerously loyal." She reaches into her coat. Pulls out a small vial of black liquid. "This is shadow essence. Drink it before you go. It'll boost your power for a few hours. You'll need every advantage you can get."
"You're helping me?"
"I hate the angels more than I fear Lilith." She presses the vial into my hand. "Besides, if you somehow survive this, I want you to remember who gave you the power to do it."
I take the vial. "What's your real angle?"
"Revolution." Her eyes gleam. "The angels have ruled too long. Demons are scattered. Witches are divided. But a demon-bonded queen who storms Celestial Tower? That's the spark we need to burn their regime down."
Before I can respond, agony rips through my chest again.
Not a bond echo this time. Something worse.
Through the bond, I feel them torturing Azraeth. Seraphina's blade cutting into him slowly. His screams. His blood.
And underneath it all, I feel his curse trying to return. The holy magic is interfering with our completed bond, weakening it. If they keep this up, the curse could start killing him again.
I have hours. Maybe less.
"How do I get into Celestial Tower?" I demand.
"There's one way." Thorne pulls out a piece of paper. Draws a quick map. "Underground access through the old city tunnels. It's how the rebellion moves supplies. Angels don't know about it."
"Rebellion?"
"Witches and demons who are tired of angel rule. Small numbers now. But growing." She hands me the map. "Follow this route. You'll meet others along the way. Tell them Thorne sent you. They'll help—or at least not stop you."
I take the map. Memorize it quickly.
"One more thing," Thorne says. "Seraphina isn't just holding him. She's using him as bait. She knows you'll come. She's counting on it."
"I know."
"And you're going anyway."
"Yes."
Through the bond, I feel Azraeth's presence surge briefly. No. Don't. It's a trap.
I know, I send back. But I'm coming anyway. We survive together or not at all.
His mental voice breaks. You're going to get yourself killed.
Then teach me not to. I pull on the leather jacket Thorne hands me. Check the weapons she's provided—enchanted blades that glow with witch magic. You said I'm chaos barely leashed. Time to unleash it.
Mireya—
I'm not Morwenna. The words feel important. True. She let them kill her. I won't. I'm coming for you, Demon King. And heaven help anyone who stands in my way.
His emotions flood the bond—fear, pride, love, terror—all tangled together.
Then come fast, he finally says. Before they break me completely.
I spread my wings. Drink the shadow essence. Power explodes through my veins, darker and stronger than before.